- Title: The Outrun
- IMDb: link
Saoirse Ronan stars in director Nora Fingscheidt‘s stylish memoir based on Amy Liptrot’s true story. Jumping around her timeline to showcase various moments of Rona’s (Ronan) life from childhood to present provides context to how she ended up one one of the most remote Orkney Islands fighting her addiction with alcoholism and building a new life. While following her inner journey, the film also examines life on the island and nature beyond as her relative isolation brings her a peace she hasn’t seen in years.
The film is notable mostly for Ronan’s performance along with the film’s unique setting which is tied strongly to Rona’s journey. In any rehabilitation story there are always the possibility of two endings: hard-fought success or tragedy. The non-linear structure Fingscheidt decides to use, along with stylish inserts narrated by Ronan, allows the film to be more visually stimulating but at times struggles to chronicle our protagonist’s success in the way a more straightforward narrative would. It’s certainly a tradeoff that ultimately provides more freedom to the filmmaker allowing her full control to determine what, and when, certain events will be tackled.
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